{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases/salinas-oregon-members-announce-2-million-oregon-soil-health-management", "Salinas, Oregon Members Announce $2 Million to Oregon for Soil Health Management", "2024-07-25", "2024", "2024-07", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Andrea Salinas", "S001226", "salinas.house.gov", "salinas", "https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, DC\u2014 Today, U.S. Representatives Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Val Hoyle (OR-04), along with Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, announced $2 million in federal funds for soil health programs on Oregon farms made available through the Inflation Reduction Act.\n\n\u201cImproving soil health will be critical for the long-term success of small family farms across Oregon,\u201d said Rep. Salinas. \u201cThis grant funding will be used to partner with local hazelnut growers and demonstrate the many benefits of good soil management. It also goes hand-in-hand with legislation I\u2019ve introduced that would invest in soil health education and reward growers who adopt healthy soil practices. As our climate continues to change, I\u2019ll keep working with my Oregon colleagues to ensure our growers can stay profitable and resilient.\n\n\u201cFarmers and producers have valuable experience and can help develop conservation strategies to reduce carbon emissions and increase crop resiliency. I am thrilled that the University of Oregon has received more than $2 million from the Conservation Innovation Grants program to work with local hazelnut farmers on a soil health management system. This industry is an important part of Oregon\u2019s economy, and the grant funding will bring in agricultural producers as active partners in managing healthy soil and addressing carbon pollution,\u201dsaid Rep. Bonamici.\n\n\u201cOregon\u2019s hazelnut farmers worked hard to bounce back from a blight that nearly destroyed America\u2019s hazelnut industry. Now they are facing new threats of climate change,\u201d said Rep. Hoyle. \u201cThis $2 million investment will support the University of Oregon\u2019s partnerships with local hazelnut growers to improve soil health to help these crops survive. I am proud to have worked to bring these taxpayer dollars back to Oregon to support hazelnut growers.\u201d\n\n\u201cOregon is great at both growing things and adding value to them, but we need to make sure we do both in a sustainable way,\u201d said Sen. Wyden. \u201cI am always eager to support programs that tackle challenges farmers face while helping address the climate crisis, and I will keep advocating for more funding to support similar projects in Oregon.\u201d\n\n\"Agricultural innovation strengthens Oregon\u2019s rural economies and contributes to our state\u2019s vitality for generations to come,\u201d said Sen. Merkley. \u201cMaintaining the health of our soil is beneficial not only for feeding the country but also for ensuring that our farming practices are sustainable in the fight against climate chaos. The CIG project by the University of Oregon, which is funded by the historic Inflation Reduction Act, sets a new standard for sustainable farming, strengthening our world-class Oregon agriculture industry.\u201d\n\nThe $2 million in federal funds will be distributed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Conservation Innovation Grants Program. The University of Oregon will demonstrate this soil health management system at-scale across 20 farms representative of the larger Oregon hazelnut industry by providing incentives for adoption, providing technical support, and demonstrating the ecological and economic benefits.\n\n\"We are thrilled to receive the USDA's support for our work to use native cover crops and basalt dust amendments to enhance soil health and carbon drawdown in hazelnut orchards. This is a great example of \u201cwin-win\u201d science that benefits farm operations while supporting the long-term sustainability of the Oregon hazelnut industry. Healthy soils are a key element of climate resilience, and we are excited to apply this system at-scale to hazelnut farms across the state,\u201dsaid Dr. Lauren Hallett, UO Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies.\n\nRep. Salinas has introduced two bills to improve soil health. The Soil Conservation & Regeneration Education (Soil CARE) Act, which has a Senate companion bill led by Sens. Wyden and Merkley, would invest in regenerative agriculture education and help local farmers and producers be more resilient to extreme weather. The Healthy Soils Healthy Climate Act builds on a 2018 Farm Bill provision authored by Sen. Wyden and creates a permanent soil health program through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) at USDA. The bill is co-led by Reps. Bonamici and Sean Casten (IL-06), along with Sens. Wyden and Merkley.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:24:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases/salinas-oregon-members-announce-2-million-oregon-soil-health-management"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9674988687038422, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}